What To Expect At An American Idol Audition Casting Call

The Worsters were out in full force this year, trying out to be part of America’s Largest Karaoke Competition to see if we could get a plant onto the show. We did succeed in getting a few people past the first round, but we'd like to give you a taste of what it’s like to go to an American Idol audition and how pointless the day is.

We’ve already exposed the falsifications of the audition process in our expose The Truth About American Idol Auditions. In case you haven’t read that story, the auditions take place over many weeks. The first auditions (the ones advertised by Idol) are just a casting call where you sing in groups of four for a producer. You are given the green light to advance or you’re sent home from there. You’re then called back multiple times in the future, up to a month or two later, to see producers and possibly the celebrity judges. Only about 50-100 people from each city see the celebrity judges, and that’s after lots of weeding. The producers ask the contestants to continue to wear the same clothing to each audition though so that they can pretend it all happened in one day.

But this piece is about what to expect when you go to the casting call. Is it worth the trouble? What method do the producers use to select candidates? And how do the plants all make it past round one? Some of you don't believe what this site has to say, so don’t take our word for it. Read all about the auditions from the stories of a group of people who auditioned this year. Most realized just how silly it all was. And please, make sure to forward this on to anyone who ever considered trying out for American Idol.

Expect that getting to the auditions at 5 AM when the producers tell you to get there is a waste of time. You won’t be disqualified for showing up later.

“If they tell you have to be at the auditions by 5 am, or even 8 am, it's a big fat lie. They don't lock the doors and you will be let in if you have already registered and have a bracelet and ticket. Show up by 10 am or later and you will be fine. If you are in a high number section, your audition won't be until later.” –Ohsnap, Chicago Auditions

“[Two years ago] I was one of the ones who got there extra early on both the registration and audition days, only to find out that I showed up early for no reason. The only plus to showing up early on registration day was getting an okay spot in line, but the actual day of auditions was nothing but waiting, waiting, and more waiting... I had previously told myself we would not be coming back at 5am, and am grateful I stuck to my guns. As I said earlier, today we just walked up and went in and got to sit down.” –Liz, Dallas Auditions

“We returned Monday at 4:45 am on no sleep and were put in the second line.  Well, 5:30 am hits and I need to use the bathrooms....  oh, my.  the bathrooms were literally full... like up to the rim full... so i couldn't go.  I figured well, they have to let us in soon, so whatever.  We waited until 8:30... and eventually bailed out.  Waiting outside served NO purpose other than to get their 'group shots' which should have taken 45 minutes tops.” –Sara, Chicago Auditions

Expect that fewer people than you think actually try out for the show.

“Out of 60-70,000 seats in the Georgia Dome, only about maybe 10 sections were filled (and when I say filled, I mean had people in them - and the producers still had to move people in to fill the seats so they could look full for the camera. So when you see it on TV in January, you heard it here first - my guess is only about 10-12,00 people auditioned - not too many considering that Atlanta has been the second largest draw (only behind LA) for auditions - there were nowhere near that many people. Editing is a beautiful thing for the idol producers… Don't believe them when they say that they had ‘record turnout’.” – Anonymous, Atlanta Auditions

“The fat producer actually had to move some of the auditioners in one section to fill seats to make it look like people where actually there.” –N, Chicago Auditions

Expect to spend at least a few hours singing the “city song” and filming crowd shots before anyone has a chance to audition.

“They finally let everyone into the stadium, where we had to find our seats right away so they could teach us some stupid Pussy Cat Dolls song.  If I ever hear it again someone is getting punched in the face.  They had us sitting in the stands (still raining ) for over an hour while we did one shot (again) a million times.” –SuburbanCowboy, Boston auditions

“We had to sing "Oops! I Did It Again" by Britney Spears...seriously they made us sing this stupid song like upwards of 50 times (I dropped out after about 3).” –Anonymous, Atlanta Auditions

“8 AM - 10 PM is basically another set of (you guessed it) group shots! At registration, all of us were asked to learn a song that will be sung as an audience "choir". Can you guess what it is? That's right! Katy Perry's Hot N Cold! We sang the first verse -> chorus -> bridge -> chorus for about 2 hours and THEN the auditions began....” –Ricky, Chicago Auditions

“I never knew the words to Last Name before. Now the first verse and chorus has been sandpapered into my brain” –Anonymous, Denver Auditions

Expect that disobeying any one of the ridiculous rules will get you a swift kick out of the auditions.

“We were told that they are "watching you even when you don't realize it." Like they can spot one person out of a few thousand that isn't participating - they are all the way out in the infield, so they can't even see the crowd up close.” –Anonymous, Atlanta Auditions

“The producer yelled through his bullhorn, "You all want to be on TV, right?  It is very important that we all cooperate so this runs smoothly, especially the stupid tall guy in the blue!"  That would be me.” – SuburbanCowboy, Boston auditions

“We eventually started to film and the evil producers threatened us if we shouted when we weren't supposed to, or drink/ eat anything to their specifications or something.” –N, Chicago Auditions

“[Joey Homza] started throwing out his business cards (apparently he'll perform at children's parties!) and security swooped in and carried his ass out of the stadium.  How dare he promote himself when he's already signed his life away to TPTB!!!  The fans went nuts and booed for a good 15 minutes.” –SuburbanCowboy, Boston auditions

Expect that VIP contestants (aka plants) have already been told they will be making it through and will not need to do as much work as you would.

“American idol is rude and they have favorites already who they let cut right through the lines.” –Jake, Boston auditions

“Then at 11am, guess what???  The auditions finally started!!!  At this point there were random people, about 5 per section that showed up.  These people were dressed like they were ready to perform on stage while the rest of us were wet, cold, and pee stained.  They all made it through to the next round.  Can you smell a garden full of plants… One girl (who looked a lot like Casey Carlson, only hotter) sat right next to me.  I hit on her and asked her name (I'm smooth), but she said, "I'm not allowed to talk to you, I have to sit here and pretend like I don't already know I made it to the next round."  I looked down, and a camera was right on us.” –SuburbanCowboy, Boston auditions

“The producers as always were going out of their way to pimp certain people. Specifically the section I was sitting in they would take people that made it through the to the next round and bring them down to the bottom of my section and sit them there and film them just casually sitting there in the arena. My guess is it's for the little video packages they make and that most of those people were plants, they left for about an hour and then all came back with VIP passes and filmed them all 1 by one in my section.” –Karie, Atlanta Auditions

“After about an hour or so of all this, we got to sit down, and then the "VIP" people got to go up. There were 12 tables, and at that time, only one (the one in the middle) was operating. There were two people sitting at the table, and a host of other producers surrounding them to listen to the people who were VIP. At least one of each of their groups of 4 made it to the next round.” –Liz, Dallas Auditions

“What is the deal with the neon green American Idol stickers that some contestants (that all made it through) were wearing?” –Joe, Chicago Auditions

Expect that the process will be incredibly random: you will be randomly sorted to see a low level “producer” at a table that sees 4 people at a time for 15 seconds each… and you have no control over the table you are sent to.

“There are 12 tables lined up on the field, each separated by a little cloth partition. The AI people bring you down one section at a time, and line you up around the field. When you get to the 50 yard line, they put you in single file to the middle of the field and count off in groups of 4, sending 4 people at a time to a table. This is a very random process (i.e. my group of 4 went to table 7, but the group of 4 behind me didn't go to table 8...maybe 1 or 10, no telling).” – Anonymous, Atlanta Auditions

Expect that different tables look for certain things and most are not looking for talented singers.

“Some friends in the stands noticed that certain lines were only picking certain people (maybe hip hop/r&b singers) and the line next to me only seemed to be picking people with stupid gimmicks or outfits - one girl was dressed up as a guitar. So my group of 4 approached table 7, with 2 other groups ahead of us. 3 of these people were PHENOMENAL singers...I mean amazing. Then the 4th girl sang and the judges were literally LAUGHING IN HER FACE she was awful! And she is the ONLY ONE OUT OF THAT GROUP THAT ADVANCED TO THE NEXT ROUND!!!!... Then I called some of my friends who had gone either ahead or behind me, who are incredible singers, and they had gotten cut too. Just out of curiosity, I asked what table they'd gone to. Every one of them just happened to get at table 7.” –Anonymous, Atlanta Auditions

“I was cut in the first round. I ended up at a table looking for the weirdos, which I obviously am not. It was very frustrating to me that I was cut considering 1. I think I did very well, 2. It took me 6 hours to get to Boston and 3. We all waited about 6 hours in the rain prior to auditions.” – Jenna, Boston auditions

“Awesome singers belting and singing their hearts out got the shit stick while boys in pink girls’ outfits got to go through” –N, Chicago Auditions

“The one table that was putting through real singers more often than not was table 5.” –Joe, Chicago Auditions

Expect that the bad people will make it through much easier than the good people.

“I have a feeling the Orlando episode is gonna be one for the ages cause they let thru a LOT of bad talent. Along the VFTW-worthy I was able to hear:
•    Some dude who sounded like a opera chick
•    Axl Rose's retarded brother, Bilo
•    Adam Lambert's gay younger brother (i assume they're related)
•    Cody Shelton (yes, dumb bastard can't take a hint, having said that I can't confirm he made it thru)
•    Fat cheerleader who could do a mean somersault but couldn't carry a tune if she tried.
•    Fabulous black dude who everyone referred to as "Da Diva"
•    Dancing fool that would make Step and Fetchit proud.
•    Hunky tone-deaf firefighter (Kara will be pleased)
•    And not ONE but TWO TRANNIES!!!! (swear to God)
I think we'll have a VFTW behemoth to rival Sanjaya next season, with all the crap they're letting through, I'm sure of it.” –Raymar, Orlando Auditions
“The producer turns to us and says "Well thank you for trying out everyone. We need voices like Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia, Adam, and Kris (yes, Kris) so unfortunately, I think you all need to develop your voices a liiiittle more before you go on to the next round"… A second later, I received word that a girl who took off her shorts to reveal a two-part bikini and pole danced the producers at another booth got a ticket to go onto the next round!” –Ricky, Chicago Auditions

Expect that some tables let no one at all through.

“It was also my understanding that they had opened up a "dummy" table towards the middle of auditions that let no one through at all because they had started letting through way too many people. Golden tickets went flying to any old interchangeable blonde girl and then all of a sudden table 10 was opened and actually turned down my friend which is an amazing singer and actually has a marketability factor. They even told her she was good and looked blown away and STILL passed and from what I understand they didn't let anyone through at that table the rest of the day, it was just there to weed out the people.” –Karie, Atlanta Auditions

“I looked to the table to my left and saw a pile of golden tickets. I looked to the table to my right (where my friend was) and saw a pile of golden tickets. Then there was my table - who NEVER had a single golden ticket on their table. They didn't let through a single person the 2 hours I was there (which makes sense, because it's awful hard to hand out tickets to the next round when you don't have any!).” –Anonymous, Orlando Auditions

“I think I had one of the bad tables, because I didn't see anyone from my audition booth get a ticket, and the judge I sang for was the same judge who cut me in Philly 2 years ago.” –Bryan, Boston Auditions

Expect to get attitude from the producers and very little sympathy for having waited all day to audition.

“When my turn to sing finally came (after 12 hours of waiting), the judge was yawning and wouldn't even watch as the members of my group sang.” –Anonymous, Dallas Auditions

“I found myself at a table where the one female judge was looking disinterested and bored.” –Liz, Dallas Auditions

“After waiting in line for hours in the rain, they got to the "preliminary" judges. It was apparently 2 English folks with rods up their asses.” –Anonymous, Boston auditions

“I was "lucky" enough to get Michael Orland (I'm sure you know who he is) did my thing while up there.. The only thing Michael Orland said to me was great voice you should try out in another city.  WTF?!  Like I have time/money to follow them around!” –Joe, Chicago Auditions

“Once I got up for my audition the producers were incredibly rude in my opinion in telling us to hold on a for a few while they chowed down on chocolate cake, Then let us proceed after they were done.” –Karie, Atlanta Auditions

“I was auditioning with my uncles girlfriend, who is 27. She actually did good. She sang Redneck Woman, and joked about being a true redneck woman because she was sun burnt. Although the British judge was rather humorless and didn't put her through.” –Swim4Life107, Chicago Auditions

Expect to be cut for a reason that will make little to no sense.

“They then told me no because they want OLDER contestants and not younger kids... pretty much they want me to have more experience.” –N, Chicago Auditions

“I just wanted to share that my friend made it to [the producers for the second round of auditions in Orlando], who then told her that she was 'too experienced' and he was looking for someone he could 'develop' and cut her. Yeah.” –Anonymous. Orlando Auditions

“They called us 3 up to the table & told me that I had a great voice, very talented but not what they're looking for this season.” –Anonymous, Atlanta Auditions

“I almost made it to the second round, but the judge said that I sounded too R&B and it didn’t match with the look I was giving” –Alexander, Dallas Auditions

“After my whole group sang, she called us up, and said "Thank you for coming out today. Unfortunately, you're not strong enough for season 9." I wanted to play it up just so I could get my time's worth (as opposed to money's worth) and asked for a second chance. I was told the same robotic answer "You're just not strong enough". So, I guess Dorothy from Wizard of Oz and a girl dressed in a turquoise, sequined dress were strong enough? Or a girl in a fluorescent green and black tutu who cried to the judges to let her through was strong enough? It was odd how robotic her answer was...as if she had been told to say those exact words to whoever didn't fit the description she was told to let through.” –Liz, Dallas Auditions

“As for me, I'm pretty sure I would have had a better chance of making it into the show if the guy in front of me didn't make it, just cuz he looks better than me. See American Idol does this thing where if they had just given a golden ticket already they would wait about 20-40 contestants before they would give their next golden ticket to, and since i was right behind that guy no matter how good i was and how the judges liked me they couldn't give me the ticket cuz they just gave one out.” –Baylong, Los Angeles Auditions

Expect to completely understand Vote for the Worst after trying out for the show and seeing what a joke it is.

“You know, for a while now, I'll come to your site. Mostly, I just go for laughs, but after this weekend, I now COMPLETELY understand your cause, and support you.” –Anonymous, Boston auditions

“I am so very very sick of spending a day at these things when there is a 1% (if not less) chance of getting the right table in the right circumstance.” –Joe, Chicago Auditions

“As I was exiting the auditions, I overheard a producer talking to security, and he said, ‘We're not looking for talent. We could care less how well they can sing...’ and then he saw that I could hear him and he stopped talking and pointed to the exit and told me to ‘keep going, right through there’.” –Anonymous, Dallas Auditions

So let’s summarize. After standing in a long line and being told by producers that you have to sing a terrible song 500 times or you’ll be kicked out, you’ll be given the chance to sing a 15 second demo for a random production assistant who will probably tell you that you’re not what the show is looking for because they’ve been told not to put anyone through to the next round so that there will be more room for the planted contestants. Riveting. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences, and we hope you pass this on to everyone who considers auditioning for American Idol in the future. It just isn’t worth the time… unless you’re going to make VFTW proud and you have nothing better to do. Just realize you’re in for a day of boredom and monotony. (Picture courtesy of AI Now)

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